Heldegard Fjellblod
Heldegard Fjellblod 'is the real name of an infamous Nordic mercenary and bounty hunter who is commonly known as the '''Rihad Osprey '(or simply the '''Osprey). Known as a supremely reliable gun-for-hire and a terrifying foe, her participation in various wars, political conflicts, and criminal undertakings have granted her both renown and infamy in many parts of the galaxy. Her clientele includes most of the galaxy's criminal syndicates, though many military organisations and private corporations make use of her services as well. Biography Heldegard was born in the city of Dawnstar, on the planet Skyrim. Her clan, Clan Fjellblod, claims to trace its lineage to one of Ysgramor's Five Hundred Companions. In her young adulthood, she was trained to become the Housecarl of Jarl Vigge of Dawnstar, but when he was murdered before she got the chance to enter his service, she decided to take her skills to the Companions in 2010 EC. Her tenure with the Companions was short-lived, however; she did not care for the camaraderie, and she felt that their honour code was restricting and distracting. When in 2011 EC, a Redguard came to offer an assassination job on Hammerfell and the Companions refused to take it, Heldegard took the job and left the Companions. Over the following years, Heldegard rapidly began to establish herself in the mercenary world, carving out a name for herself and setting herself ahead of her competition with the ruthless efficiency and lethality she displayed on the job. Her contracts ranged from bounty hunting to liquidation or even outright extermination to bodyguard work. Initially her clients were primarily individuals or regional bounty hunting agencies, but fairly soon she gained the attention of major criminal syndicates, which significantly boosted her notoriety and caused her to draw in larger jobs. Eventually, even major corporations began to hire her to oversee security operations, and on occasion, even certain military instances would employ her as an auxiliary in wartime. Heldegard enjoys an exceptional popularity among the Redguards of Hammerfell, who make up the majority of her clients. Her prowess and efficiency in combat has left a positive impression in the Redguards, who hold such qualities in high esteem. A particular job in the city of Rihad has catapulted her to near celebrity status among the Redguards. Heldegard had been contracted to eliminate a brutal Redguard warlord, Achmed Al-Hazred, who had taken residence in the city; he had fortified himself in the middle of a major city square and made use of a nigh-impenetrable tower shield, making it difficult for Heldegard to get to him. Following a drawn-out firefight in the city square, Heldegard eventually disappeared on a rooftop. Achmed, who was anticipating her to be repositioning for a flanking manoeuvre, kept up his guard; what he had not anticipated, however, was that she came rocketing straight down from the sky using her jetpack, swooping down at him and eliminating him from above using a holo-mace. This marvellous stunt was witnessed by a large crowd, and word about it quickly spread. People soon began to call her the Rihad Osprey, likening the way she swooped down from the sky to the way such birds catch their prey. In spite of her extensive list of legally tender clientele, Heldegard is wanted by several planetary governments, for her involvement in numerous capital crimes across the galaxy. These include the planets of Morrowind, High Rock, Summerset. In spite of her popularity among the populace of Hammerfell, she is also wanted dead or alive by the Crowns, though the Forebears disregard that notion. Personality and traits Heldegard is a no-nonsense woman. She is straight to the point and does not like to waste more words than necessary. If there are multiple solutions to a problem, she will not hesitate about picking the simplest. This should not be mistaken for a lack of forward planning, though; she may not be interested in elaborate plans, but she will avoid complications. If things do go south in an operation, however, she is very adaptable and will adjust accordingly on the fly. Many people who interact with Heldegard would describe her as cold, gruff, and disaffected, with a lack of regard for the people around her. While this assessment is not entirely wrong, she has a select few people in her life whom she does care about. She does not easily show affection, but those few who are close to her know how to recognise when she tries. Skills, abilities, and equipment Heldegard is a highly competent and versatile combatant. She is both a skilled marksman and a dangerous pugilist, and she supplements both those qualities with a wide arsenal of equipment, which makes her suited for any kind of task. Trained to become a Housecarl on Skyrim, Heldegard is familiar with most kinds of firearms, and has advanced combat training with heavier rifles. Though she is not a specialised sniper, she has nonetheless developed a high rate of accuracy with marksman weapons; in most circumstances, she can hit targets up to a mile away with competency, more if supplemented with targeting systems. Heldegard is an adept close quarters combatant; she is trained in Nordic wrestling, and augments it with some elements from Redguard martial arts. She does not bother with fancy martial arts techniques, finding them needlessly complicated and showy; instead, she relies on her raw strength and her simple yet deviously effective wrestling techniques to overpower her opponents. Equipment The first item on Heldegard's extensive list of equipment is her customised suit of Brena Cyberworks Dervish M9 battlegear. This suit, made of interlocking neutronium alloy plating, essentially functions as a complete suite of combat diagnostics and enhancement technology, with on-board systems including biomonitors, reaction speed and limb function enhancement arrays, datamaps with movement sensors and IFF tagging, targeting support systems and weapons uplink, climate control and oxygen recyling suite allowing survival in extreme climates and even temporarily in the vacuum of space, and energy shielding systems. It is also fitted with a jump pack, which she frequently employs to gain a vertical mobility advantage against her opponents. While not as high-end and incredibly protective as Reactive-Armour, it is several cuts above military issue battlegear and among the best armour money can buy. Heldegard has access to a large variety of firearms, allowing her the versatility she needs to complete any kind of mission. Her primary weapon of choice is a multi-purpose assault rifle, capable of adjusting itself into various configurations on the fly: it has several firing modes, can adjust its calibre, and change between a carbine, rifle, and marksman configuration. Besides that rifle, she also owns numerous sidearms, shotgun platforms, grenade launchers, sniper rifles, and machine guns, as well as a number of personal defence weapon systems built into her Dervish M9 battlegear. Lastly, she owns a Stonekeep Armaments Ltd. Titanslayer Anti-Materiel Weapon System: this heavy-duty anti-materiel rifle exists for a single purpose, which is to pierce even the strongest kinds of armour, and will penetrate anything weaker than an armoured starship hull - this includes Reactive-Armour, which is the reason Heldegard owns one of these incredibly valuable weapons. Heldegard does not have any affinity with the Elder Effect. To make up for the tactical disadvantage this puts her in when facing wielders of the Elder Effect, she has a device called a Nullifier. This device, when activated, fires a pulse which dampens the Elder Effect, temporarily nullifying the workings of nearby EE-using technology and those who wield the Elder Effect through implants, and severely weakening the abilities of natural wielders and exceptionally powerful machinery. The downside of using the Nullifier is that it will also shut down Heldegard's own EE-using equipment, thus limiting her to conventional weaponry while the Nullifier is active. Heldegard operates from a small transport ship named the Hebridean Roost (though that name is subject to constant change, to mask Heldegard's comings and goings), which has no real home port. This vessel provides her with all the amenities she requires to live on board, including sleeping quarters, armoury, training quarters, and a fully immersive holodeck that serves both as a way to scout out her destinations by directly linking up to the datafeed from her remote drones, and as an observation deck for leisure purposes. The ship has the outward appearance and the signatures of a commercial vessel; the upside to this is that it will enter ports completely inconspicuously, but the downside is that it is only lightly armed and armoured. The Hebridean Roost is not meant to endure drawn-out space combat. Category:Elder Effect Category:Characters Category:Females Category:Nords Category:Mercenaries